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How to make Jelly Belly Vodka

Jelly Belly vodka is my homemade stocking filler of choice this year. It’s so easy to make, there are hundreds of flavours to try and even better, you can invent your own. I’ve put plenty to the test to single out the best Jelly Belly vodka flavours, which to combine and which to skip. Allow me to introduce the stars of the show:

Lemon Meringue Pie // Apple // Bubblegum

They’re wonderful with lemonade, served neat over ice for something potent and some flavours even mix well with champagne! Versatile, fun and perfect for gifting.

We’re fast approaching the crazy, full on Christmas time and if I’m honest, I’m totally not ready for Christmas this year. Sure I’ve made a start on gift wrapping, the tree is up and I’ve even sang the odd Christmas song at Matt but the bubbling excitement and the ‘merry and bright’ thing hasn’t happened for me yet.

I put it down to the weather when December started because we hadn’t really had many cold frosty mornings. Then the weekend that Storm Desmond tore Cumbria to shreds, I was referred to the surgical team by my ENT Consultant. The plan is that I have a bone anchored hearing aid fitted at some point in 2016 but it hit me like a tonne of bricks. I know the statistics Cogan’s Syndrome carries for total hearing and sight loss, but for some reason I didn’t think I’d be part of that. So if I’ve been quiet lately, that’s why. I’ve been processing it all, reading everything I can about the operation, picking myself up and dusting myself off.

Tonight I plan to eat mince pies, sip a lemon meringue lemonade and watch films with Matt whilst the Christmas tree twinkles. That will fix it all.

If you know someone who needs a bit of ‘merry and bright’ in the run up to Christmas, I recommend knocking them up some custom flavoured vodka.

All you need is a bottle or jar, vodka and Jelly Beans of your choosing. Amazon has a huge variety of flavours including some collaborations with brands like Dr Pepper and Tabasco, so there is no doubt a flavour to suit everyone there. However, if you really want to make something special, I think it’s way more interesting to try a flavour combination. Lemon and coconut jelly beans together taste just like lemon meringue pie and that happens to be one of Matt’s favourite flavours in the world. There’s a recipe generator here if you want to experiment with that.

For gifting, the cocktail classics range makes things slightly easier if you know what your friend would order at the bar; mojito, margarita, pina colada etc.

Double coloured beans, such as the watermelon, don’t look too pretty once infused and tend to leave a brownish tint to the vodka. The watermelon vodka I made tastes delicious, but the green outside and red inside have muddied together with a fairly unattractive outcome. If you’re gifting, I’d stay clear of that one.

Pick your flavour, follow my instructions to find out how to make jelly belly vodka and enjoy.